Friday, November 14, 2008

field trip

Yesterday I went on a field trip with Lucas's class.

He informed me that I hadn't chaperoned a field trip since he was in kindergarten! (when I was pregnant with Eva) Since he's now in fourth grade, I agreed that it was definitely time to volunteer. Fortunately my support team stepped in to help: Heidi took Eva in the morning and dropped her off at preschool and Jill picked her up, fed her lunch, and played with her until I returned at 2:30.

We left the school at 9:15.

I had forgotten how truly chaotic it is to ride a school bus filled with excited kids!

First we went to downtown Provo for GIS Day. (I'd never heard of it, either.) It stands for Geographic Information Systems, and we learned about aerial photography, computerized mapping, and local GIS applications.

This was definitely the highlight of GIS Day. This guy was very entertaining, and told us all about a program he wrote to keep track of all the city-owned trees for the city forester. (Who knew that could be so interesting?)

After the classes, they served cake adorned with the GIS logo.

Then we went outside to eat lunch. Lucas, of course, wanted to bring a sack lunch from home, as opposed to a sack lunch provided by the school. Otherwise he would have had to eat a lunchmeat sandwich! The horrors.

This enormous tree has several supports for its lateral branches! Have you ever seen anything like that?

This was a happy sight. Although I don't care for milk, I love chocolate milk, especially pre-packaged chocolate milk.

Next, we headed to one of BYU's smaller museums. (This was my group of kids. On the whole, they were very well-behaved.)

Many of the objects in one of their current displays came from Chihuahua and were donated by Shirley Taylor Robinson. My dad grew up in Chihuahua and my maiden name is Taylor, so my curiosity was piqued. Dad? Any relation?

Our last stop was the Earth Science Museum. In my opinion, the best part is being able to look through the large windows into the lab where the paleontologists are working on new finds.


So here's what I learned:

- GIS day exists.
- Aerial photography cameras cost anywhere from $.5 million to over $1 million.
- Film canisters for film aerial photography cameras are about a foot tall and are very heavy.
- Kids really enjoy looking up their homes and/or school on Google maps.
- 33 satellites orbit the earth in order to provide data for GPS systems.
- GPS was developed by the U.S. Department of Defense and is now used worldwide.
- How triangulation works.
- Orem City has a forester.
- He tracks the damage done to city trees by vandalism or natural causes and also their replacement value.
- Fourth grade girls scream a lot.
- Some fourth graders are very anti-BYU.
- Kachinas are dolls made by Pueblo Indians to represent the spirits.
- How archeologists use artifacts to extrapolate information about past civilizations.
- How to tell if a dinosaur was an herbivore or carnivore (its teeth).
- Lucas's teacher is very ambitious and has more energy than I (3 field trips in one!).
- I'm glad I don't have to do that every day.

- Going with this guy was well worth it. He sat with me on the bus and everywhere we went. I think he was really happy to have me along. I love you, buddy.


18 comments:

Jill said...

Going on field trips of this kind is definitely a labor of love. It's good that you could go though, especially since Lucas totally appreciated you being there.

I love the self-portrait of you two and your lunch bags.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a very fun trip to me...wish I could have been there. Love the SP of you and your buddy Lucas.
Yes, Shirley Taylor Robinson is my cousin.

Melinda said...

No way! You are related. Too bad you didn't know that while you were there so you could brag a little. How fun.

That is a really cute picture of you and Lucas. That is great you could go with him. I get so much slack from the kids because I can't go with them on their field trips.

Anonymous said...

Oh, that picture of the two of you is sweet! Lucas does look just so happy and content to have you by his side. That was quite a field trip!

melanie said...

I would go on a field trip like that. Sounds like fun and I love the photo fo the two of you. Adorable. Cool that the lady is a realtive.

Barb said...

He is so so cute.
I really want to know what was in the home-packed lunch for the boy who doesn't like lunchmeat!

crystal said...

You found a 2nd cousin! So weird, how the world works. (is that a 2nd cousin? i'm a geneology idiot)

Lucas is a doll. Can we marry him off to Isabelle?

kelly said...

I have nevered commented here before...but found you through Jills blog, I don't remember how I found her. But wanted to let you know..
1) I love your pumpkins
2) That sweater you wore yesterday is great...love it.
3) You have awesome handwritting


cute blog..thanks for sharing☺

Anonymous said...

3 field trips in one day? Wow.

These look like pretty cool places- you learned a lot! I love the sack lunch picture and that he informed you that it had been a while since you went on a field trip! I also love pre-made chocolate milk. It feels like a dirty secret to admit that.

You are just fun Michelle.

charlotte said...

That sounds like a fun- and learning-filled day! I always loved it when my mom went with me on field trips--I love your SP!

Neighbor Jane Payne said...

Your SPT at the bottom is just the sweetest thing, Michelle.

I love parent paydays like this when your effort is immediately rewarded. I'm glad you got to have the experience with Lucas.

marc said...

Very cute pic of you and Lucas. One for the wall, perhaps?

Robyn said...

I will have to remember that 4th grade girls scream alot and never, ever volunteer to chaperone a trip!

The GIS stuff sounds so interesting!

Becky said...

That is quite the ambitious field trip day! Looks like it was a success though. Loved all the photos!

P.S. My maiden name is Taylor too...I'm sure somewhere in the line we're related but not closely :)

Susan said...

Too too cute photo of the two buddies!

Sounds like a fun day, even with screaming girls! Lucas looks like he's pretty darn satisfied having you along! And, lots of interesting information to be sure!

carlo said...

oh the fieldtrips...the buses and so on.

yep. labor of love, as jill said.

love the spt of you and lucas. too cute.

i went on a GS overnight with cassie's troop over the weekend.
labor of love there, too. :)

Diana said...

how nice your support system stepped in so you could spend this time with Lucas.
I had never heard of GIS. Sounds like a real cool field trip. I have brought the kids to the BYU museum for a story time they do on Thursdays, it's pretty nice.
I'm with Lucas, I hate lunch meat that I don't know where it came from... gross.

Robin said...

Oh man...I loved going on field trips when I was in school! This totally takes me back (: One of my favorite field trips of all time was going to the planetarium. I often think to myself...why don't I go to the great planetariums we have here locally as an adult? I'm sure I would still love it. I wish I took the time to do fun, educational stuff like this even years after field trip days ;)

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